On a bright spring morning in north London, members of The London Society gathered outside Hornsey Town Hall. Some arrived curious to see inside a building they had passed for years.
Others came with a deeper connection, having once worked there or remembering its long decline.
Before its restoration, the stories were stark. Water pouring through the roof. A grand piano left exposed beneath it. A building that had once anchored local civic life slipping into disrepair.
That history was not hidden from the tour. It was part of the story.
A building shaped by its past and present
Completed in 1935 and designed by Reginald Uren, Hornsey Town Hall was one of Britain’s earliest modernist civic buildings. Its Art Deco detailing, careful material palette and confident civic presence spoke of a moment when public architecture carried both ambition and pride.
But like many civic buildings across London, its original purpose faded. Changing patterns of governance, funding pressures and neglect left it vulnerable. For years, its future was uncertain.
What we saw on this visit was something different. Not a frozen restoration, but a building being brought back into use.
Funded by FEC UK, led by General Projects supported by architects Make and engineers Heyne Tillett Steel, the project is a meticulous and ongoing process of repair, adaptation and reinvention.
What we experienced on the tour
Guided by Katy Ghahremani from Make Architects and James Morgan from Heyne Tillett Steel, the visit offered rare access behind the scenes of a complex live project.
We moved through restored civic spaces and into areas not usually open to the public, including the hotel rooms that sit within the historic structure.
The building’s original functions are still legible. The assembly hall, council chamber and committee rooms remain, carefully restored and reinterpreted.
In the assembly hall, even the timber panelling has been recreated with attention to the original grain direction, a small detail that speaks to the care taken throughout.
Elsewhere, new uses are layered in:
The material richness is still evident. Marble, cork and timber floors sit alongside restored Art Deco detailing. Seventy clocks, once part of the building’s civic rhythm, remain embedded throughout.
And the piano is still there.
No longer playable, and beyond economic repair, it has been retained as a quiet marker of what the building has been through.
The bigger idea: what reuse really means
Projects like this can easily be framed as heritage success stories. But the more interesting question is what they mean for London now.
Across the city, there are civic buildings that no longer serve their original purpose. Town halls, libraries, public institutions. The question is not whether they should be preserved, but how they can remain useful.
Hornsey Town Hall offers one answer.
It shows that reuse is not just about retaining façades or celebrating history. It is about finding new roles for old structures in a way that supports everyday life. Housing, workspace, culture and hospitality are not separate from civic life. They are part of it.
There are tensions, of course. Access, affordability, commercial viability. The building is still a work in progress, and its long-term success will depend on how these spaces are used and who feels welcome in them.
But what is clear is that the alternative, continued decline, would have meant losing something far more valuable.
What this means for London
London needs more homes. It also needs places where people can gather, work and connect.
Too often, these needs are treated separately. Housing is delivered in isolation. Heritage is protected in isolation. Civic space is discussed in isolation.
Hornsey Town Hall brings these strands together.
The new residential buildings sit at a higher density, yet feel open and considered, drawing on the language of both the town hall and the adjoining library. The mix of uses creates activity throughout the day, not just at fixed civic moments.
Most importantly, the building begins to recover its role as a shared place.
Not identical to what it was in 1935, but still recognisably civic.
That matters. Because civic buildings do more than house functions. They shape how people feel about their neighbourhood. They create a sense of belonging and pride that is hard to replicate elsewhere.
Looking ahead
As we continue our programme of tours and visits, this theme keeps returning.
From retrofit office buildings to new housing developments, we are asking a consistent question: what does good look like in practice?
Hornsey Town Hall offers one answer.
A building once at risk is now active again. Not finished, not resolved, but moving forward.
And for those who joined us on that sunny morning, walking through spaces that had been closed, forgotten and then carefully brought back to life, the lesson was clear.
Seeing these places matters.
Because it is only by experiencing them that we can begin to understand how London can evolve, and what it takes to shape a city that works better for everyone.
